One Life to Lose, Missing moments
by charliexedd
Summary: Just some silly thoughts on a few extra scenes for 'One Life to Lose.' The story's a little contrived and not particularly believable but I thought, what the hell.


**A/N - A couple of potential missing scenes from 3x18 - One Life to Lose. A somewhat silly, contrived idea but one which amused me...**

* * *

Castle and Esposito stared through the two way glass into the interrogation room as Beckett sat back in her chair after talking with Mandy Bronson.

"Did she just suggest..." Castle said, pointing through the glass at the actress.

"Yeah bro," Esposito said, a slightly disappointed look on his face.

Castle turned to Esposito and grinned. "So, perhaps not a murder suspect then but still...smoking hot?" He asked, teasingly.

Esposito just gave Castle a withering look and walked out of the observation room. Castle's grin grew broader. He could sense a good opportunity to tease the detective and he thought it part of his duties at the 12th to keep _all_ of the homicide detectives entertained, even if it was occasionally at their own expense.

"So, her being a potential murder suspect didn't reduce her hotness but her...ah...relaxed attitude to using her body to further her career does? What does that say about you my friend?" Castle said as he caught up with Esposito.

"Shut up Castle," Esposito ground out, obviously not amused by Castle's teasing.

"Well, at least we know one thing." Castle said as they reached Esposito's desk. The detective turned to look at him and Castle continued. "If Lanie finally cracks and murders someone - which frankly being surrounded by dead folks all day wouldn't surprise me - then you'll stand by her." Castle said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Funny," Esposito said.

"Yeah...Esplaine forever," Castle said, giving a mock salute and relishing the opportunity to use the name he'd recently created for the detective and the M.E.

Esposito looked at Castle as if he'd gone mad. There was no amusement in his quiet tone as he asked, "Esplaine?"

"Yeah," Castle grinned back at him, oblivious to the undertones in the detective's voice. "You know, Esposito and Laine – Esplaine! Like Foxcann...geddit?"

"Castle, are you comparing my relationship with Lanie to a two bit soap opera?" Esposito asked dangerously, taking a step towards Castle.

Castle blinked, the annoyance in his friend's tone finally breaking though his boyish joy at teasing him. Realising that he had perhaps pushed the detective a bit too far, and very aware that Esposito could probably throw him across the room without breaking a sweat, Castle took a step back and held his hands up in front of him.

"I...I didn't...no, no I wasn't comparing...uh..."

"Castle..." Beckett said as she appeared at Castle's elbow. Castle jumped a few inches in the ear at her sudden appearance. He'd been totally unaware of her approach, which was very unusual as he normally knew exactly where she was in relation to him. However, her appearance now was perfectly timed and Castle took the opportunity to step a little closer to her and away from Esposito, who was still looking at him with daggers in his eyes. Beckett looked at Castle in surprise as he stepped closed to her and then she looked across at Esposito.

"What's going on here?" Beckett asked, stepping between them, glaring at them both in turn.

"Nothing!" Castle exclaimed quickly.

"Esposito?" Beckett asked, after rolling her eyes at his feeble attempts to hide behind her.

"Nothing boss," Esposito said after a second or two, before turning away and dropping heavily into his seat, focusing his attention on his computer monitor.

Beckett looked at Esposito for a moment and then back at Castle. Castle felt relived and embarrassed and it must have shown on his face, judging by Beckett's next words. "Castle, what did you say this time?" Beckett asked him wearily.

"Hey, why are you assuming it's my fault?" Castle said indignantly. Beckett simply raised an eyebrow at him and Castle winced at the hard look she gave him. "Ok, ok...I may have, accidently, ah..." Castle paused and then finished in a rush, "...compared Esposito's relationship with Lanie to a soap opera."

"You did what!" Beckett exclaimed in surprise.

"Not on purpose! I was just mucking around," Castle said directing his comment at Esposito. Esposito simply grunted and Castle winced again. Looking at Beckett Castle had the distinct impression he was back in boarding school having to explain to his teachers again why what he'd done was _funny_ and was not him being a troublemaker. "I was just saying that it was odd how he found Mandy to be hot despite being a murder suspect..."

Beckett turned away from him and turned a disapproving stare on Esposito, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat despite not taking his eyes of his computer screen to look at her.

"...and," Castle continued, "I said that it showed he'd stand by Lanie whatever and..." he paused, not wishing to continue any further.

"And?" Beckett asked, turning back to look at her partner.

"And, I might have referred to them as Esplaine," Castle mumbled.

Beckett stared at him for a second or two before looking down at Esposito, who was by now also looking a little embarrassed. "Sometimes it really is like working with a bunch of five years olds," Beckett said, shaking her head and walking back to her desk.

Castle and Esposito shared an embarrassed stare for a few moments. Castle did indeed feel like he'd been caught with his hands in the cookie jar and by the look on Esposito's face he suspected the detective felt something similar. Esposito glanced over at Beckett and held up his fingers. Castle grinned and 'fed the birds', acknowledging his friend's forgiveness. He could almost feel Beckett's eyes rolling behind his back and not wanting to give her the opportunity to scold him any further he stayed by Esposito's desk, pretending to check his phone for messages.

"Castle, we've got to go back to the studio," Beckett said as she walked up to them a minute or two later, handing Castle his jacket. "We've got to confirm Miss Bronson's alibi." Castle nodded and put his phone in his pocket so that he could swing his arms into his jacket with a flourish. Beckett started to head towards the elevator before pausing and turning to look back at her them. She grinned evilly at Esposito and waved her own mobile phone at him. Castle exchanged a puzzled look with the detective before Beckett said, "I'll leave Javi here to 'esplaine' to Lanie why he thinks Miss Bronson is so hot."

Castle stared at Beckett's retreating back, the implication of what she had done obvious to his eyes. He looked at the detective seated next to him and was greeted with a face several shades paler than a few moments ago and a look of dread in his eyes. Castle patted him gently on the back, letting him know he felt his upcoming pain and then hurried after Beckett just as Esposito's phone started to ring. Castle would bet a great deal of his not inconsiderable fortune on exactly who was on the other end of that line and he was glad he wasn't going to be the one to answer that particular call from the feisty M.E.

* * *

-Two days later-

The case was over and they had arrested Sarah's assistant. Castle hadn't enjoyed the fact that a fellow writer had been capable of such acts. Stealing another writer's script to pass it off as her own and then murdering her boss to cover up the crime. As Esposito had said, that was cold! As was often the case, they'd decided to have a drink to celebrate capturing the killer and headed towards the Old Haunt. Castle arrived at his bar about 15 minutes after the boys having stayed behind for a few minutes to talk to Beckett without them looking over his shoulder.

He'd given Beckett a photograph before he left, a simple group shot of the stars of Temptation Lane, signed by them all. It wasn't much and his mother had literally jumped at the excuse to return to the studio to get the signatures. He had hoped that the gift would be well received by Beckett and he'd been really pleased to see the genuine smile of pleasure of her face when she'd seen it. When she had voluntarily opened up about her reasons for loving the show he'd been surprised at first but pleased that she'd confided in him. He knew that for most people, sharing such an irrelevant detail as a favoured TV program would not be a particularly big deal but for Beckett, who shielded her life behind a wall so tall and so thick Castle sometimes despaired of ever wearing it down, it was a surprising amount of information. He couldn't help but wonder how many other people she had shared this particular secret love with. Did even Josh know of her secret soap opera addiction?

Castle had not mentioned anything at all to the boys about Beckett being a fan of a show since finding out. Delighted though he had been to figure out her secret he had instinctively known that it was not something he should share with anyone else. He had not even told his mother why he wanted her to get a photo of the cast signed, although judging by the look she gave him she probably had a shrewd idea. Castle treasured this knowledge about Beckett as he treasured everything else about her. As he stood outside his bar before joining the dynamic duo his thoughts turned, as they often did when he was alone, to the time spent here with Kate and all the other mad adventures and dangers the two had shared over the past few years. Somewhere along the line that woman had silently captured his heart and he had no idea when or how. All he knew was that she had and he was now hopelessly in love with her.

Castle sighed and scrubbed his hands though his hair. No matter how often he wished things were different there was no changing the fact that Beckett was with Josh and that was that. He loved her and at the moment she was happy with Josh and even though it killed him he couldn't, he wouldn't, do anything to get between them, not while she was happy with him. Given the number of love rats he'd met in the past three years working with Beckett, not to mention a whole host of people he knew from his 'other' life as a famous author, he sometimes wondered if he was a minority in feeling that way but he couldn't help it, it just wasn't in his makeup to step between two people, even if Beckett was one of them.

Castle cursed. Damn, stupid motorcycle boy, always turning up or calling at the wrong moment; it frustrated the hell out of him! He took a deep breath to calm himself and pushed those thoughts to the back of his head, as he had done so often in recent months. He pusjed open the door to his bar knowing that a drink or two would help distract him for a brief while from the complicated puzzle that was Detective Kate Beckett.

The bar, when he entered, was reasonably quiet but there were enough people in there to ensure a good atmosphere. Since Castle had brought the Old Haunt it had been adopted by the cops in the city as one of their 'official' cop bars which had ensured two things: there was always customers in the bar and that it was unlikely he would ever be robbed! It was reassuting to know that his bar was unlikely to be targetted by thieves and the additional custom from the city's cops meant that, whilst he wouldn't make him a fortune from this ventue, he would at least probably not lose mony on it as previous owners had done.

Castle spied Esposito and Ryan, and surprisingly Lanie, at one of the tables and wandered over to join them, catching the eye of one of his bar staff and receiving a nod in return. His usual drink would be delivered up to him shortly - there were definitely some benefits in owning your own bar and never having to wait (or pay) for a drink was certainly one of them. As he approached the table Castle wondered what type of greeting he would get from the medical examiner, considering the slight misunderstanding he'd had with Esposito a couple of days ago. However, worries over his reception seemed to be misplaced as Lanie waved him towards an empty seat at the table.

"Where's Beckett?" Esposito asked, looking around to see if he could spot Castle's partner.

"She's not coming," Castle said a little shortly, not happy about being reminded so soon that Beckett was not at his side. "She took a call from motorcycle boy and I left her at the precinct." He brooded momentarily, not noticing the sympathetic glances which passed between his friends. "So Lanie," Castle said, looking up and wanting to change the subject, "Esposito tell you yet that it was the writer's assistant who decided to end her boss's career by planting an axe in her back?"

"Yeah, nasty. He also told me a few other things about this case...didn't you Javi?" Lanie said, looking meaningfully at the detective, who squirmed a little in his seat. Castle grinned at his friend's discomfort before the M.E. turned her gaze back on him and continued, "He also happened to mention that a certain writer thought it would be funny to come up with nicknames..." she said, letting the question hang in the air.

"Ah..." Castle stated to say, feeling a little uncomfortable under Lanie's direct stare, a feeling not helped by the satisfied grin on Ryan's face. "Well Lanie, I didn't mean..."

"Uh huh," the M.E. said with a stern look on her face that only increased Castle's discomfort even more.

At that moment Sam arrived with Castle's drink and Castle could have kissed the man as it gave him the perfect opportunity to break eye contact with Lanie and to bury his face in his drink. He hoped that by the time he took a _long _swig of the drink Lanie would have looked away but when he was eventually forced to lower his glass the M.E. was still looking him steadily in the eye.

"Esplanie, really?" She said.

"It seemed funny at the time," Castle muttered, wishing he had never mentioned anything to Esposito about the name.

"What seemed funny?" a voice said by Castle's side, making everyone except Lanie jump. Castle looked up into the face of his partner, his eyes confirming what his ears had already told told him. "Budge up Castle," Beckett said indicating that Castle should move round to make space for her.

"Beckett, what are you doing here?" Castle said in surprise. He grimaced immediately, at her expression as he realised how rude that sounded. "Sorry, I meant how did you know we were here? You weren't in the room when we arranged to meet up and when Josh called I assumed..." Castle left it hanging.

"Assumed what Castle?" Beckett asked teasingly, taking the seat next to Castle and, as usual, raising his heart rate by her mere presence close to him.

"I...I, just assumed...that you would be meeting up with him," Castle managed somewhat inelegantly. Castle took a deep breath, to try and regain some composure. This night was not going well at all. This was _his_ bar after all and first Lanie and now Beckett were making him feel like a fool. This was not the way things were supposed to go!

"What, and miss out on a celebratory drink after closing another case? Be serious Castle, I can't let Ryan and Esposito here take all the credit whilst I'm not around!"

"Hey!" The two detectives said in unison.

"Your drink detective," Sam said, reappearing at the table and depositing a drink in front of Beckett.

"Thanks Sam," Beckett said. "Castle's paying."

Sam simply nodded and walked off towards the bar. Castle smiled at the relaxed way Beckett was sitting next to him, sipping her drink. She looked just adorable and he couldn't help but think how good it would be to reach out and gently rest his hand on her knee or tuck that errant piece of hair behind her ear. Castle blinked, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon and he just had to accept that, no matter how painful it was. He tried to pull himself together, to regain some semblance of control over his emotions.

"You still haven't answered my question Beckett," Castle said. "How did you know we were here?"

"Besides the fact that you _always_ come here for drinks after solving a case these days you mean?" Beckett threw back at him with a triumphant smirk on her face. "Other than that rather obvious guess, Lanie text'd me and told me to, ah, 'get my ass over here for a drink pronto' I think it was."

"Sounds about right," Lanie said, raising her glass in a mock salute to Beckett.

"So why was it _so_ important for me to drag my ass over here Lanie," Beckett asked, causing Castle to close his eyes as he tried to rid himself of Beckett's fantastic ass.

"Ah, I have a something for you," Lanie said, reaching for a bag at her feet. "A gift in fact..."

"Another one!" Beckett exclaimed, interrupting the M.E. Lanie froze in the act of pulling something out of her bag and Ryan and Esposito looked across at their boss in surprise as she put her hand across her mouth in mortification. Castle had waited until the two detectives across from them had left the precinct before giving the signed photo to Beckett for good reason and he knew that she wouldn't want to discuss his gift with them. She probably didn't even want to admit to receiving a gift from him, given the awkward questions that would inevitably follow. It was at times like this that Castle's mouth worked faster than his brain so he was almost as surprised as the rest when he said, "Come now Beckett, you can hardly call a signed photo from the dodgy lead in a TV soap opera a gift."

Beckett looked at Castle in surprise and he gave her an almost imperceptible shrug. He turned to the others and continued in a conspiratorial whisper. "Lance Hastings was quite...happy...about Beckett allowing his contract release to be sent to the studio so that he could still take on that movie role as the deranged dad – a part he is eminently suitable for I might add - so he presented Beckett with photo signed by all the cast as a token of his gratitude. I don't think Beckett really knew what to do with it but she accepted it gracefully." Castle turned to Beckett and winked at her. "She didn't want to say anything to you guys in case you got jealous."

The others relaxed into smiles at Beckett's discomfort but Beckett continued to stare at Castle. He hoped he had guessed right, that she wouldn't want her secret love of the show, or his gift to her, to be public knowledge otherwise he had just dropped himself in big trouble. But after a moment's pause she simply turned back to the table and drawled, "Yeah, thanks for sharing Castle," giving a very good impression at being annoyed with his 'revelation'. She did however drop her hand below the table to briefly squeeze his hand, letting him know that she was grateful for his subterfuge. The contact was brief but Castle felt the now all to familiar shock of pleasure at her touch and he wished that he could respond by gripping her hand and holding on to it forever.

"Well, gifts from soap opera stars aside," Lanie said, finally completing her movement and removing a reasonably large wrapped parcel and placing it on the table in front of them, "Javi and I wanted to give you this."

Beckett looked at the wrapped object in puzzlement and shook her head. "Did I miss a few months or something and today is my birthday? Why are you giving me a gift?"

"Oh, no reason honey," Lanie said, a small, secret smile on her face. "It was just something we thought you would like. You can call it an early birthday present if it makes you feel better."

Castle looked across at Beckett, as puzzled as she was by this turn of events. He had no idea what their friends and colleagues were up to but the two detectives and the M.E. were smiling broadly in a way which told Castle there was some secret joke they were not sharing with the two of them. He could tell that Beckett was obviously thinking along the same lines as she nervously touched the package but made no move to unwrap it.

"Lanie..." Beckett started to ask but was stalled by the M.E. raising her hand.

"Just accept it as a gift from us and open it," she said firmly.

"Fine," Beckett huffed, a little sulkily at being ordered around by her friend. But she pulled the package towards her and started to rip the wrapping off.

Castle leaned in to see what it was, as curious as Beckett to find out what it was the others had brought Beckett, and why they had done so. It only took a few moments for Beckett to remove enough of the wrapping for it to be clear the gift was an ornate wooden box, covered in fine metal wire which picked out swirls and other complicated designs. The box was a deep mahogany under the wire work and had a lid held down with a simple clasp. It was actually quite a beautiful object but Castle still had no idea why Lanie and Esposito had given it to Beckett. If this _was_ some kind of odd joke then he was at a complete loss as to what it was.

Beckett ran her fingers over the box and said, "Lanie, Javi this is beautiful...but why?"

"As I said, there is no why. We saw this, thought of you and just didn't want to wait for your birthday to give it to you. We're not going to do any more _'explaining'_ than that," Lanie said, looking across at Castle with an evil twinkle in her eye.

Castle blinked, it looked like Beckett had missed the slight emphasis that Lanie had put on the word 'explaining' but he certainly hadn't and that look she had just given him made him feel distinctly nervous. What were these three up to?

"Just don't think you're going to get another birthday present from us this year, that's all!" Lanie finished, looking back at Beckett.

"I don't know what to say," Becket managed as she lifted the lid and peered inside.

"Thank you is traditional," Esposito put in, around his drink, which he'd lifted to his mouth. Castle could see the broad smile he was trying hard to conceal.

"Yeah," put in Ryan, whose own smile was very clearly visible on his face. "It's not every day you're given your very own _casket._"

Castle opened his mouth to respond with a witty retort. However, no words came out as his brain suddenly clicked into gear and started waving red flags in front of his eyes at Ryan's words. He closed his mouth with a snap and looked at his grinning friends in horror. They hadn't just done what he thought they'd done, had they? Oh God, if Beckett realises what Ryan's just said she will kill me. There was no way she'd believe that he wasn't behind this, no way at all! It would be his fault, she would blame him and there would be nothing he could do to convince her otherwise.

Castle cleared his throat and tried to speak. "Yes, it's a very nice wooden _'chest'_," he managed, his voice perhaps an octave or two higher than normal.

"Oh no Castle," Esposito chipped in. "It's definitely a 'Cas...kett'," Castle winced as Esposito added a completely unnecessary pause for emphasis. "We checked with the store owner when we brought it."

Castle pasted a sick looking smile on his face and risked a glance over at Beckett. She was still seemingly engrossed with the damn box and didn't appear to be paying much attention to what had been said. He glared across at the grinning trio and mouthed _'I'm going to kill you'_ at them which did nothing more than broaden their smiles.

Beckett finally looked up a moment or two later, with what looked like a smile of genuine pleasure on her face. She still gave no sign that she'd heard the conversation identifying the box as a casket, she simply reached across the table to grasp Lanie and then Esposito's hands in turn and said, "Thank you, this is a beautiful gift."

Lanie and Esposito turned towards each other, unsure whether Beckett had got the joke or not. Castle knew he was still a little wide eyed but he also looked at his partner, trying to determine whether she remained oblivious to the none too subtle word play of her colleagues. The fact she was still there and not frozen in place or shouting at either one of them suggested that perhaps she hadn't heard what had been said. It would be unusual, Beckett was normally the first one, along with him, to pick up on what was not being said, or only hinted at. It was one of the many reasons why she was such a great detective; and Ryan, Esposito and Lanie were doing a great deal more than just hinting!

"Where are you going to put it," Lanie asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Oh, I think this would look great in my bedroom," Beckett said casually, causing Castle to choke on his drink. Beckett reached across and patted him on the back until he stopped coughing. "You alright there Castle?" She asked.

"Fine, fine," Castle croaked whilst Ryan and Esposito laughed openly at his discomfort.

"Not that I'm complaining about such a beautiful gift but I still don't understand why you couldn't wait for my birthday to give me this?" Beckett said, looking over at Lanie and Esposito.

"Oh, it just seemed to be the right time for some reason," Lanie said, directing a knowing glance at Castle. He closed his eyes; this was all in revenge for him referring to them as Esplanie! That was so unfair, it had been one comment amongst the many hundreds of teasing comments between them – what was it about particular this one which had prompted such horrible revenge? He could only pray that Beckett continued in her apparent ignorance of what they had done.

"Well, whatever the reason, thank you. I'm touched."

"You're welcome," Lanie said, a little uncertainly. She looked across at Esposito who shrugged. It seemed that Beckett was ignorant of their attempted practical joke on her. Castle sighed in relief, for once grateful that Beckett was slower than normal on the uptake. Castle didn't know how he was going to get these three back for this evening's 'joke' but he was definitely going to make them pay for this!

Castle's thoughts started to drift to images of Lanie, Ryan and Esposito standing in the middle of the bullpen at the 12th with the entire precinct laughing at them as the result of his yet to be determined revenge when Beckett suddenly piped up and said, "Did I hear you say this was a casket?" Castle closed his eyes and groaned quietly under his breath. He was done for!

"Yeah," Esposito confirmed, glancing at Lanie. "That's what they said when they sold it to us."

Beckett nodded and said nothing for a moment or two before adding, "Strange, I always thought a casket was another word for a coffin."

"Erm...yeah, I suppose it is." Esposito said weakly.

Beckett drained her drink and suddenly stood up. "Well, as much as I want to stay and celebrate more with you I have things I need to do tonight. Lanie, Espo thanks again for this," she said, indicating the casket under her arm. "It really is a lovely gift and a wonderful surprise. I really do appreciate it, thank you." Beckett turned and nodded at Ryan and Castle, "Ryan, Castle. I'll see you all tomorrow." And with that Beckett headed towards the door leaving the four of them sitting there, stunned at her abrupt departure.

* * *

Castle left the Old Haunt about half an hour after Beckett. He'd spent that time remonstrating with Lanie, Esposito and Ryan for their 'joke' on Beckett, making sure he called Lanie and Esposito 'Esplaine' as many times as he could. He'd sworn that he would get revenge on them, revenge he was still very determined to extract, but eventually he had to concede that it had been a good idea for a joke – or at least would have been if it hadn't been at his expense and if Beckett had seemingly missed the punch line completely.

Castle was just about to hail a cab when he heard a light step behind him and he turned, his brain immediately fearing some mugger or other miscreant creeping up on him. He was therefore totally unprepared for the sight of Kate Beckett bearing down on him so he just stood there frozen to the spot, his hand still half extended in the act of hailing a cab, as she reached him. She came to a stop a few inches away, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing with anger.

"Castle," Beckett grated, as she stared at him. "What the hell do you think you were doing in there?"

"W...what..." Castle stammered, caught completely off guard by Beckett's appearance.

"That whole fiasco in there," Beckett said angrily, pointing at the door to the Old Haunt. "That was your idea wasn't it, don't deny it."

"It wasn't, I didn't," Castle pleaded desperately. He knew it! He knew she would figure it out and when she did she would blame him. He looked into the eyes of his partner before haning his head in defeat. There was no point in arguing, she would never believe that he hadn't organised this stunt, even if he could get Esposito or Lanie to confirm his story.

"Castle..." Beckett said warningly. Castle closed his eyes and braced himself for the explosion.

A moment passed, and then another. And then suddenly the night was split by Beckett's laughter as she reached up and tweaked Castle's ear. "You are just so easy, Castle" Beckett said.

Castle opened his eyes and stared at his laughing partner. Beckett was standing in front of him, the anger he had thought he'd seen in her eyes gone completely, replaced with total amusement at his expense. His heart pounding Castle looked at this adorable creature in front of him and fell in love with her all over again. She was so beautiful when she laughed like this, so free of her normal constraints, giving Castle a brief glimpse of what Beckett could be like when her defences were down. She was extraordinary under normal circumstances but when he saw her like this Castle could sense she could be so much more, that they could be so much more. He watched transfixed as her laughter slowly subsided. He knew that he was probably broadcasting his desire for her so loudly that nearby radio stations were picking it up as interference and for once he didn't care.

The moment hung there between then, over in an instant yet lasting a lifetime. And then Beckett looked away from Castle and the real world returned. Castle remembered that she was not his; that he had no claim on this woman and her heart belonged to another. His eyes clouded with pain as the memory of her relationship with Josh forced itself back to the surface and his brain once again took control of his body from his heart. He coughed into the night, shaking himself and forcing a smile onto his face.

"You got me Kate, you really got me," Castle managed, unconsciously using Beckett's first name as he often did when his emotions regarding her were so barely under his control.

"I always knew it wasn't you Castle," Beckett said, after a moment or two. "You had such a sick look on your face when Esposito almost spelled out the word 'caskett' that there was no way you could have been involved. It would have been funny if I wasn't trying so hard not give them any reaction."

"When, when did you know..."

"From the moment Ryan said casket. I mean, did they really think they were going to fool me with that stupid tale about giving me a gift for no reason? No one gives anyone a gift for no reason," Beckett said, saying the last few words a little quieter than the rest and with what Castle thought was a trace of uncertainty.

"No," Castle agreed, looking directly at her. "A gift without a reason would be...unusual." His thoughts were on the photograph he had given barely an hour ago and he suspected she was thinking about that gift from him as well. A silly present really, but one which he knew she would secretly love and he couldn't stop himself from doing things that would make this woman smile. He had given her that photo for no other reason than to see her smile, much the same reason he brought her coffee each day. The additional information she had given him about her reasons for watching such an un-Beckett like show had been an added bonus.

Beckett gave a shy little smile and lowered her eyes briefly. "I mean a casket, really. How slow do they think we are?"

"Yeah," Castle agreed, still a little unsure why Kate wasn't chewing him out at the implication of their friend's failed attempt at a practical joke. If she had truly figured out what the guys had been ribbing them for, a relationship which he wished to God they actually had, then he really thought she would explode. She had always been very quick to deny any hint of a relationship between them to anyone who asked or assumed they were more than just friends and partners. But she seemed more offended that their friends thought they could fool her with such a simple ruse, than at the implications of the ruse itself.

"So..." Castle said

"So, we are so going to get them back!" Beckett finished for him. "There is no way we're going to let them get away with this is there?"

Castle grinned. He may have no idea why Beckett wasn't mad at him as a result of the prank the guys had tried to play on them but she seemed only out for one thing, revenge on them. And as he wanted nothing more than that revenge himself, if Kate was in on it then all the better.

"Absolutely," he agreed.

"Glad to hear it," Beckett said, stepping around him to hail down a passing cab. As the cab pulled up Beckett opened the door and looked back over her shoulder at him. "You comin' Castle? No time like the present to plot our revenge," she said with a smile as she got in.

Castle stood there for a moment or two, his brain trying to keep up with this turn of events. Tonight was taking an entirely different path to anything he could have imagined as he had brooded about his relationship with Kate on his way over to the Old Haunt earlier that evening. It was hard to believe that it had been less than an hour ago when he had expected nothing more than a drink or two with the boys before heading home to his lonely bed and his maudlin thoughts. Instead it looked like he was going to spend the evening with Kate, plotting their revenge on Lanie and the guys, an outcome which meant two really great things: Lanie and the boys would suffer for what they had tried to do to them and, more importantly, Kate wasn't going to be with Josh this evening because she was instead going to be with him.

Castle smiled as he got in the cab. This evening was going to be so much more fun than he had ever imagined it would be.


End file.
